A Daydreamer's Whisper
by Katerina.Vargas
Summary: "At the end of the day, this is your life, not your peers, not your parents, not your brothers, yours! Live it your way, that is the only way you are going to be able to die with no regrets. There are always going to be people that don't agree, but there is only ever one you." Groovy! Tubular! Zoinks! Can you Dig it? Regulus/OC with Lily/James and other pairings. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey guys, just wanted to let you know a few things about the story.**

 **This is slightly AU.**

 **The timeline is a bit different from the actual books, you'll see later on.**

 **Like Rachel, everyone is in their 5th year. I will note otherwise if there is someone not in the same year.**

 **Regulus is a 5th year as well. For the sake of the story, he was born on August 24th, 1960, a little over 9 months after Sirius was born.**

"blah blah" - regular speech

" **blah blah" -** raised voice/shout

'blah blah' - Sorting hat talking to Rachel

 _blah blah -_ Rachel's thoughts

 **As this is an OC story, I do expect that there will be people complaining about the possibility that the character could end up being a Mary Sue and while I am perfectly content with constructive criticism and advice, I may or may not make any changes. Please be aware, this is my story, and I intend to keep it out of Mary Sue territory as they annoy me as well, but I will not change my character to suit other people's taste.**

 **Warning: There will be cursing.**

 **I am researching the Harry Potter world while writing this, so I hope that everything will make sense and flow well with the story but please, let me know if I have something wrong, like where a certain room is on a floor, character names, etc.**

 **Also, please thank UltimateGryffindork, for betaing this story! She has been wonderful in suggesting changes and fixing my awful grammar. XD**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The Great Hall was lively with chatter, students clambering to talk with each other about summer breaks before the sorting began. The infamous Marauders were drawing much of the attention, girls glancing over and whispering to their friends, blushing and giggling, happy to be back in the presence of the handsome boys and the boys laughing at their theatrics or muttering jealous whispers to their friends. Lily Evans was turning down yet another one of James' invitation to date him, rolling her eyes and telling him to once more, leave her alone. He grinned and sauntered back to his place in the center of the Gryffindor table, the rest of the Marauders following. Sirius winked at the girls he passed, eliciting bashful giggles and whispers from them while Remus shook his head, smiling softly at Lily as Peter skittered after them, his watery blue eyes darting around.

In the only quiet corner of the Hall sat the Slytherins, many chatting quietly with each other, some glaring or sneering at the noise the other houses were making. Most of these students were sitting tall and proud, befitting of their elite pureblood status, somewhat rigid in their movements. Regulus Black sat near the front middle of the table, surrounded by his fellow elites, quietly waiting for the Sorting to begin. He glanced at his older brother once, quickly moving his gaze back to his fellow elites with a hardened look.

Finally, Dumbledore stood and smiled over the Great Hall, the students falling quiet. "Welcome back to another year, students. I expect that you are all hungry and anxious to eat after your long trip back, so please, let us begin welcoming our new students." A raucous applause occurred, students hungry to eat and whispering how many new students will be in which house to each other.

The doors open slowly, causing the students whispers to fall to a hush, everyone turning in their seats to try and catch a glimpse of the new students. The students slowly walked in, led by Professor McGonagall, many staring in awe at the ceiling, drawing grins from the older students as they remembered their first time in the Great Hall.

Amongst these first years was another girl in the back, slightly taller than the rest, who seemed to be torn between staring at the ceiling in awe with the rest of the students and sending incredulous glances at the taller students who were of similar height. The girl had long straight brown hair, falling to mid-back with some golden touches and hazel-green eyes that changed color tones as her eyes swept around the room. McGonagall, having finally reached the stool where the Sorting Hat sat, called for silence with a glance around the Hall.

The tall girl at the back stared at the Hat, cocking her head to the side, wondering what a hat had to do with the sorting process. Shaking her head, waiting for the bustling hall to quiet down, she glanced once more around the crowd of eleven year olds that she stood with.

 _Eleven years old and half of them are as tall as I am, what the heck? What do people feed these kids here…I need to get me some of that stuff...hmm...hopefully the food is good here_ , she thought, starting to drift off into her own daydreams about food. Her tummy had started rumbling outside the Great Hall and she was starting to regret her choice not to eat lunch due to nerves.

She gave a start when she felt someone step on her foot. Coming back from her daydream, she noticed that the hall had gone quiet and just caught a glimpse of the Hat, opening its pseudo-mouth before she heard it start to sing.

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _if you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folks use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _Though I may choose,_

 _The correct house for you,_

 _Based on primary qualities,_

 _Do not let that cloud your view._

 _Some things are hidden deep within,_

 _The proud can be humble,_

 _The sweet can be cold,_

 _The clever can be dense,_

 _The ambitious can be selfless._

 _And let us not forgot,_

 _Not all things are as they seem,_

 _Take this to heart and mind,_

 _And journey forward._

 _Though the path may be dark,_

 _There is always a crossroads that,_

 _May lead to light._

 _Well now, uh…that was unexpected…a talking hat…magic still confounds me to this day, even after 4 years, should I be concerned about that?_ The girl mused to herself, raising both brows in silent shock.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward then, with a long-unfurled scroll, looking as rigid as a pole, making the girl wonder if her back hurt from the tense muscles. She was brought back to the present when the professor began to read off the list, "Alice Aslan," and watched as a young blonde girl walked up to the chair nervously, placing the hat on her head.

" **Ravenclaw!** " The cry came, from, once again, the pseudo-mouth of the hat.

The girl looked incredulously at the hat, glancing around her to see others reactions, some first years looked shocked while a great majority seemed nonchalant.

 _Well okie dokey then…talking hat is officially normal…I guess I can't be too judgmental though, Ilvermorny has carvings that choose our houses._ Rachel nodded her head along to her thoughts a bit, still much in her own mind, slowly starting once more to day dream about food as her stomach rumbled again.

"Perseus Zaxl."

Torn from her thoughts, she looked up again and noticed that she was now alone in front of the Great Hall, the last student sitting in the chair waiting for their sorting to be done.

" **Slytherin!** " The hat shouted once more, the table at the far-left applauding while the house in red booed.

 _Booing an eleven-year-old? Way to stay classy…_ she thought, frowning at the boos she heard behind her.

After Perseus walked down to his new house, McGonagall stepped back from the stool, Dumbledore taking her place, drawing confused glances and whispers from the students as they wondered what was going on. The tall girl, knowing what was coming next, started fidgeting. _Darn it, I didn't think he would make this a big deal, urgh, way to make a girl feel awkward, Headmaster,_ she thought to herself, playing with her fingers.

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling glancing around the room, stopping on several faces before finally fixing his gaze on the girl standing at the steps fidgeting from the attention.

"This year, I am most pleased to announce that we have a transfer student from the United States magic school, Ilvermorny, Rachel Villari. She will be placed in the 5th year class, so please give her a warm welcome dear 5th year students. Now then dear, please let us get you sorted so you can meet your fellow students and everyone can eat." He gestured to the stool and Rachel walked up the stairs, turned, and sat on the stool, flashing a small smile at the Headmaster as she did so.

McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head.

 _Well this is different, sitting on a stool with a Hat on my head to get sorted, very different from Ilvermorny,_ Rachel mused in her head.

'Why yes, it is quite different, isn't?' Rachel jumped slightly, startled by the voice in her head.

 _Shit! What the? So, you talk in our heads too? …that's a tad creepy…_ Rachel thought, twitching slightly, trying to hold her thoughts back a bit from the hat.

'Hahaha, yes I do, child, though I resent the creepiness remark,' the Sorting Hat replied in an amused but slightly insulted tone.

Rachel raised her eyebrows at that. _Really? What would you call someone looking at your private thoughts with no hello or how do you do?_

The Sorting hat paused at that, and Rachel tilted her head, wondering if something had happened. '…Fair enough…I see you at least have a good sense of logic then, shall I continue looking to sort you now?' Rachel pursed her lips, trying not to laugh, glancing at Dumbledore who still stood quite close to her. They locked gazes for a moment, Rachel letting a soft snort pass as she caught his twinkling, amused eyes, as if he knew what had occurred.

'Well now, I see you've had an interesting life so far, very high curiosity and a love for books and learning, certainly qualities befitting of a Ravenclaw. However it seems you do not like studying and have quite a tendency to procrastinate, and hmm, a very lax attention span, boredom sets in quick with you, perhaps not Ravenclaw then,' The Sorting Hat mused, Rachel let out a breath at this.

 _Thank God…studying 24/7…ain't that much of a bookworm…thank you very much,_ she thought, forgetting that the Sorting Hat could hear her thoughts.

The Sorting Hat chuckled. 'Well I think I can cross out Gryffindor as well, while you seem to have quite a lot of bravery, if only in the face of your loved ones in danger you aren't brash or very outgoing, much more of a loner, choosing to spend time by yourself.' Rachel nodded along with the Hat, completely agreeing, drawing amused and confused glances from the crowd at the front of the table that could clearly see her gestures.

'Now down to two options left, although I think I can disregard Slytherin. You do not have high ambition nor are you very cunning, though I see you can be very cold to those who hurt you or your loved ones.' Rachel smiled darkly at that, laughing silently in her head, remembering certain past events.

'Also extremely independent, you do not like to be told by others, except those you consider family, what you should do with your life, and even then, you can get angered quickly. Stubborn and fiercely independent, much like the Pukwudgie itself, I can see why you were placed in the Pukwudgie house.'

The Sorting Hat suddenly seemed lighter, talking fondly now, rather differently from the amused searching tone that he was using previously. 'However, I see that you are patient and polite as well as incredibly loyal and a great believer in fairness, remarkable qualities for one such as young as you.'

'Hufflepuffs have always been the ones to branch out of their houses to make friends and only judge based on the individual themselves. I always felt they were some of the bravest, stepping out of their protective house barriers, never having too much issue with anyone. In times such as these, the number of allies you have can change the tide of this coming war. I bid you luck in your journey.'

" **Hufflepuff!** " Shouted the Sorting Hat, immediately breaking the silence of the room as the table with students in yellow and black erupted into applause, the other students following in a calmer tone. Rachel took off the hat and placed it gently on the stool again, patting it gently, thanking it for the amusing conversation. Turning to look at Dumbledore, she smiled and nodded at him and then turned and walked to her new house, sitting in an open spot at the table.

"Now then, the sorting has finished, and so comes the time for my speech. As our friends over the Atlantic Ocean in the United States say," Rachel looked up at this, wondering what he was going to say, "Groovy! Tubular! Zoinks! Can you Dig it? Now then, let's dig in! And Keep on Keepin on! Peace!" Rachel snorted, shocked, and then after continuing to listen, slapped her hands over her mouth and huddled over the table, her body shaking with suppressed laughter.

 _That was beautiful, hot dang, I'm already loving this school, that was hysterical,_ she thought to herself, starting to calm down, but when she looked up and saw the dumbfounded faces of her new classmates, she fell into new hysterics.

Suddenly the tables were full of food, making Rachel jump in her seat, having not expected it as she was still trying to calm down from her most recent bought of laughter. Looking around once more after wiping the tears of laughter, she noticed everyone starting to grab food from the platters and eat.

"Hi, I'm Hannah, Hannah McLeod, I'll be one of your dorm mates, it's really nice to meet you, welcome to Hogwarts," the voice came from in front of Rachel, and looking up she noticed a pretty blonde girl smiling at her, next to another girl, this one a brunette.

"And I'm Sara Pierce, your second and last dorm mate, it's nice to meet you as well, how are you finding your new surroundings?" the brunette asked, smiling kindly.

Rachel smiled, happy to see that her dorm mates seemed nice, "hello to you both as well, thank you for the welcome. So far, it's been nice, I've always wanted to travel around, though still a bit disorienting at the moment, I'm just hoping I won't get lost too much around here. Though knowing my luck, I will," she laughed lightly, starting to fill her own plate.

Sara laughed lightly, "I know what you mean, I honestly think getting lost is part of the fun though, there are a lot of secrets in the halls, so finding new places is always fun, except when you get lost trying to get to classes. The professors are reasonable for a few days, but get strict after a while, but don't worry, we can help you."

Rachel smiled thankfully at both, "thank you. Now, what exactly is this drink, and is it good?" She asked, holding up her glass of pumpkin juice, both eyebrows raised in question.

Hannah looked at her questioningly, "Ilvermorny doesn't have this drink? It's pumpkin juice, very good It's one of the staple drinks here, you can always find it on the table."

Rachel shook her head. "No, Ilvermorny really only had water, iced tea, coffee and hot tea. Well, I do like pumpkin though, so should be good," she said, taking a sip. Finding it to be pleasant, she smiled and continued drinking, parched now from talking and eating.

Hannah and Sara nodded understandingly, and they continued eating, chatting lightly until the feast was over.

After the feast was finished, Hannah and Sara led Rachel to the Hufflepuff Common Room, showing her how to enter. Stepping through the entrance behind the other two girls, Rachel stopped short, looking around in awe.

 _Oh wow! I love this! It's gorgeous! Well, I'm going to have to paint or sketch this baby, *sigh* 3 years in this heavenly room, I hit the jackpot,_ she thought, looking around at the honey wood and plants, the whole room having a sunny nature feel, warm and cozy.

"I know, right? I still say we got the best common room of all, right Han?" Sara laughed nudging Hannah, noticing Rachel was staring around in awe.

"Yep!" Hannah giggled lightly, looking around with Rachel fondly. "Well, we'd better get some sleep now, tomorrow is an early day, and I'm tuckered out from this day." Hannah said, leading them both up to their dorm room.

As she opened the door, two black and white blurs shot forward, climbing up Rachel until they reached her shoulders, purring. Shocked, Sara and Hannah looked at Rachel, and saw that the two blurs were kittens, one all white with amber eyes and the other all black with green-hazel eyes, much like their owners.

Rachel, laughing, introduced them, "Sorry about that, they must have been going crazy, they haven't left my side for quite a few days so I guess they missed me. I feel so proud about that... anyway, this little one is Feliciano," she said, carefully reaching up and patting the white one on the head, "and this one is Romano," petting the black one.

"Aww, they're adorable!" Both replied, glancing at the other with a grin when they realized they said it at the same time. Rachel laughed and they proceeded to get ready for bed, both girls taking the time to pet the kittens. Feliciano purred up a storm at the attention while Romano shrunk back at first, not trusting them, but seeing Rachel smile at him, allowed the girls to pet him for a bit before jumping on Rachel's bed, after she tucked herself in. Feli followed him, and they proceeded to fight for a bit before Romano won and curled up next to Rachel's head while Feli, whimpering, went to curl up at the foot of the bed.

Rachel, having watched the whole thing, raised her eyebrows at Romano, "you boys are so bad," she whispered laughing. Romano glanced at her and seemed to huff. Rachel shook her head, rolling her eyes at him fondly before snuggling into the blankets, and falling asleep.

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 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **Please use the review button below if you have anything to comment on. XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

 **Like Rachel, everyone is in their 5th year. I will note otherwise if there is someone not in the same year.**

 **Regulus is a 5th year as well. For the sake of the story, he was born on August 24th, 1960, a little over 9 months after Sirius was born.**

"blah blah" - regular speech

 _blah blah -_ Rachel's thoughts

 **Also, please thank UltimateGryffindork, for betaing this story! She has been wonderful in suggesting changes and fixing my awful grammar. XD**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I only own Rachel and her kittens.**

* * *

Chapter 2

Rachel slowly woke up, disturbed by the bright sun shining through the curtains by her bed. She looked around groggily, snuggling into her warm covers, before she turned her head to where Romano had been resting the night before. She flinched back a bit when she came nose to nose with Feliciano, the white kitten looking at her with large round sad amber eyes while Romano sat behind him, tail flicking about erratically. Chuckling a bit, Rachel rose from the bed quietly, after noticing that her roommates were still sleeping.

"I know, I know, boys, it's breakfast time for you, isn't it?" She asked rhetorically, amused at their eagerness, stretching a bit as she walked to her trunk at the foot of her bed. Grabbing her uniform and a change of undergarments, she walked towards the bathroom, kittens following after her.

"Just let me get ready and then we'll go down to get some breakfast, okay?" she asked the boys as they stared at her while she was getting brushing her teeth. Romano flicked his tail once more and Feliciano gave a pitiful whine, causing Rachel to roll her eyes at the dramatics. "You aren't going to die boys, we'll have a feast in a few minutes!"

She showered and then dried off, using a spell to quickly dry her hair and dressed after putting on some moisturizer and lotion as her skin felt too dry. She applied some eyeliner just to highlight a bit of her eyes, and sprayed some nice smelling body spray. Finished, she walked out of the bathroom, grabbing her bag with her school supplies. Making sure that she had her wand and that her uniform looked all right, she grabbed Romano and Feliciano and put them on her shoulders where they flopped onto their bellies, hanging onto her robe, content that they were going to be fed.

Walking through the Common Room, she had to stop and stare once more, overcome with awe and serenity. A warm glow rested across the room from the sun, the wood shining a warm gold, all of it highlighting the various plants that were around the room, some dancing and waving at her and the other few people that were awake.

This is just amazing, I really will need to make sure I make time to paint this, Rachel thought before continuing through the entrance out into the hallway. Trying to remember the way she went with Hannah and Sara yesterday, she softly shrugged and started walking, attempting to work out what they had passed and if they had taken the stairs at all.

Seeing a few people ahead of her, she decided to follow them from a distance, choosing to look around and observe the castle as she never was much for talking in the morning. As she looked back and forth, she noticed that she had two mini kitty cat heads following her gaze. She softly giggled, smiling brightly at the cuteness that was exuding from her kittens. Remembering how she found them in Diagon Alley while getting her books for classes, she smiled remembering what the naturalist had told her before buying them.

'When they have found their owner, these animals forge a small mental link, allowing for a sense of communication, wherein each side has a broad understanding of the other. When in danger, these animals also have a self-defense mechanism that transports them to where they feel would be the safest place for them now.'

She continued her walk down the various halls until she saw the students ahead of her walk through two familiar doors. "Ah! See boys, I told you we would be there fast, time to fill our tummies!" she exclaimed, eyes sparkling imaging the food that was on the table.

The two kittens replied with their own sounds: Feliciano with an excited sounding trill and Romano with a low rumbling purr. Rachel chuckled, looking around and catching the dark-grey blue eyes of a boy around her age. She smiled slightly at him, blinking quickly when he immediately averted his eyes as he continued walking, coming to a stop at what she noticed was the Slytherin table.

Cocking her head to the side, she wondered exactly what had happened in the split second they made eye contact, and why he seemed to shrink back a bit. Shrugging when she couldn't figure it out, she continued her own journey to the Hufflepuff table that was, coincidently, right next to the Slytherin one.

Still curious about the boy, she decided to take a seat facing him, deciding that observing him seemed much more interesting than the abysmal amount of people that were awake and eating. Taking gentle hold of the kittens on her shoulders, she deposited them on the table, quickly fixing them each a dish, as they had started crying once more. Rolling her eyes at the two as they each devoured their meal, she started to make her own plate. Never having been one for breakfast, she only chose a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese and a cup of hot tea.

Slowly nibbling through her breakfast, she looked once more at the boy she had met briefly in the hall. Catching sight of him, she noticed with slight shock that he was looking in her direction, but after looking closely, she realized with a grin that he was looking at Romano and Feliciano, who were now in the midst of fighting for the last piece of chicken that she was certain she had placed on Romano's plate. Giggling at their antics, she diverted her attention back to the boy, knowing already that Romano was going to win as this had happened every time they ate.

Eyes once more locked onto the curious boy with grey-blue eyes, she observed him once more, taking in his short shaggy hair that kept falling into his eyes, even though every so often he would brush it aside. As her eyes traveled across his face, she noticed there was a small smile on his face and his eyes seemed amused as he continued looking at the cats.

Well now…I think I may have found someone I may like to try and be friends with. I always love a fellow animal lover, she thought, smiling once more at him. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a pitiful cry. The fight between the two cats had apparently ended with a clear victor, as she saw Romano smugly scarf down the piece of chicken, sitting tall and proud, tail flicking in the air while Feli whimpered, tail drooping as he flopped onto the table in defeat.

"Hahaha What happened here?" Rachel looked up at the voice, seeing it to be Sara and Hannah. Glancing quickly at the Slytherin table, she noticed the boys slightly shaking shoulders and small, almost suppressed smile as he quickly averted his gaze to his empty plate.

Blinking quickly, Rachel refocused on the two girls in front of her, but not before they noticed the glance.

"These two knuckle-heads always get into fights during feeding time. Feli is a glutton and always tries to steal from Roma; it never turns out in his favor," she responded, laughing lightly. Looking at her two kittens, she noticed that Feli was giving her a wounded look, raising her brows she spoke to him, "and what, my dear, is that look for? You know as well as I do that you both had the same amount of food on your plates. I have no sympathy for you honey, that was Roma's food." Feli looked at her with large glassy eyes, before turning his head and covering his face with his tail. Rachel rolled her eyes and returned to looking at the girls.

Hannah and Sara were laughing, amused by the show. After calming down though, Hannah looked questioningly at Rachel. "So, who were you looking at when we came in?"

Rachel smiled lightly. "Ah, you saw that? I was looking at that boy across the way from us, at the Slytherin table, I think it is?"

Glancing behind them, Hannah and Sara turned back to Rachel with searching looks. "That one? That's Regulus Black. He's in our year, his older brother is as well, Sirius Black, he's in Gryffindor. They don't really have a good relationship though, their parents are blood purists and Sirius didn't agree with them, but Regulus seems to agree so they're at a sort of odds," Hannah replied.

"Not to mention, the rivalry between houses certainly doesn't help their relationship. Though considering how Bellatrix, their cousin, was in Slytherin as well and hexed a lot of students for pleasure, it does make you wonder if Regulus will turn into that as well. But we honestly don't know too much about him, he normally keeps to himself. The only people I see him with are in that nasty Slytherin gang," Sara said, grimacing.

"Nasty Slytherin gang?" Rachel asked, interested.

"Yeah, there is a group of them in our year, unfortunately. The group consists of Severus Snape, Evan Rosier, Mulciber, Avery, Wilkes, not to mention those harpies, Bambi Smith and Madison Booth, ugh. I just keep remembering the one time I got hexed by those two. I was in the Hospital Wing for hours with Pomfrey trying to reverse the curse." Sara shuddered. "But anyway, there is a big rumor that they're on their way to becoming Death Eaters, you know, the people that align themselves with HIM? I'm not sure where Regulus falls into it though, I've never seen him hex someone for sport like the others, but it could just be that he doesn't think it's worth his time…" she mused.

"Hmm, I see," Rachel said, looking over at the boy, now known as Regulus. She noticed that he was now surrounded by five other boys and two girls, his face now a cold mask, his eyes unfeeling. Frowning with slightly furrowed brows, she turned back to the girls, chatting lightly once more with them while they ate and waited for their schedules, the Great Hall slowly filling up with students getting ready for the day.

Rachel was drawing curious looks, everyone wondering about the new transfer student, some even having the courage to come up to her. However, while Rachel was polite and answered a few questions and exchanged pleasantries, she was blunt and offered no conversation, blinking in confusion when they left.

Raising a brow, she turned to Sara and Hannah who had barely concealed amused smiles. "Did I say something wrong? All I said was that I was in the Pukwudgie house and that America was interesting. Why did every single one of them look disappointed when they left, were they expecting a different answer? I mean, what should I have said to those questions?" she asked, confused.

Hannah giggle quietly, "They weren't so much interested in the answers, as they were in the new foreign girl. Don't mind them, there are some nosy people here, though I have to say, I've never seen them give up so fast! You have a gift, I had to talk to one person for hours until I finally got fed up and used the excuse that I had to go to sleep, it was only 8 o'clock!" She laughed then, and Rachel and Sara followed her, finding the whole thing amusing.

"Well, I see at least you three are awake and ready to go. Here are your schedules ladies, please show Rachel to her classes, I'm sure you remember how to get to them by now," Professor Sprout interrupted, smiling at the girls pleasantly and handing each of them a sheet of parchment. The girls smiled at her as she left to continue handing out the schedules, and each turned to compare their own schedules.

"Alright, well, it looks like this year will be interesting…" Sara grimaced. "We're mostly with Slytherins this year. Ugh…this isn't going to go well, is it?"

Hannah grimaced as well. "And History of Magic first period on a Monday?! What a great way to start the day…" she sighed tiredly.

"What's the deal with History of Magic? And are the Slytherins that bad? Do they act out in class or something, even in front of a teacher?" Rachel asked, concerned. At Ilvermorny, History of Magic was one of her favorite classes, and she was now worried that it wouldn't be like that here.

"Well, History of Magic is taught by Professor Binns, he's a ghost and well, he drones on a lot, putting most students to sleep. I think the only students I've ever seen awake and paying attention in that class were Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, and the Ravenclaws. Most other students usually slept or something else." Hannah replied, with a sheepish smile.

"As for the Slytherins, in classes, at least those in our year tend to be rude behind the Professor's back, but outside of class, in the halls, if there is no Professor around, they act out and hex anyone they want or at the least, insult them about being blood traitors or other terrible words," Sara supplied with a grimace. "We try to just avoid them at all costs, I hope that we're not going to be assigned partners in any class…the Professors tend to mix houses and with those as the options…I'd rather not risk it."

Rachel hummed, sorting through the new information. She was disappointed about History of Magic, but figured she could just read the book instead. As for the Slytherin knowledge, she was a bit annoyed that they seemed to be assholes, but she wondered exactly where the cute boy that seemed to like animals fell in. She didn't think that anyone that liked animals as much as he seemed to could be all that bad.

Her musings were interrupted once more when Hannah and Sara finished eating and called to Rachel to come with them to class seeing a few people start to head out. Standing up from the table, she pet Romano and Feli before telling them to go have fun and not to get into too much trouble. Romano flicked his tail, affronted that she thought he would cause trouble but Rachel only gestured her head to Feli, who had decided that the bowl of fruit was now a toy, batting and knocking fruit from it onto the table and floor. Romano seemed to sigh at that, going over to Feli and pushing his head down onto the table with his paw, holding him captive.

Rachel rolled her eyes at the two, amused, knowing that Romano had his work cut out for him, though that's not to say he wouldn't be getting into trouble as well. Knowing him, he would get scratch someone who got too close by the end of the day and knock a few things over, he wasn't the most graceful of kittens Rachel had seen.

Turning to the Great Hall doors, she caught a glimpse of Regulus, looking towards the kittens once more before abruptly turning and walking through the doors, the other Slytherins surrounding him. Sighing once more, she followed Hannah and Sara who had been waiting for her at the doors to the History of Magic classroom.

Entering the classroom, Rachel noticed the various array of books filling the walls, the many desks and the one lone large desk in the back of the room. Feeling a bit like she was in a library, she took a seat next to Hannah in the second row, getting her supplies out. Looking up, she noticed that most of the room was filled with students, more slowly trickling in, until most of the desks were filled with students in both yellow and black and blue and bronze ties.

A spectral figure slowly glided in once the students were all seated, stopping in front of the large desk at the front of the room. "As is customary for every 5th year class, I will begin by saying this. To those of you who wish to continue in History of Magic, you must receive a grade equal to or higher than an Acceptable on your O.W.L. Now that that has been settled, we will be covering the Giant Wars…" he continued on in a long exhausting drone that could not capture Rachel's attention.

My God…they weren't kidding about this guy. I'm so going to need to do something else in this class or I'm not going to be able to handle the rest of the day, she thought, barely keeping a yawn from escaping, eyes drooping. Shaking her head to wake herself up, she looked over at Hannah and Sara who were sitting to her right. She felt an amused smile form when she saw that they were both sleeping, huddled over their arms. Looking around she noticed that everyone except for the few Ravenclaws in the first row were either sleeping, doodling on their parchment paper, or whispering to the people next to them.

With the sleep-inducing drone in the background, she started to doodle on her parchment paper with a mechanical pencil she had in her pencil case. She spent the rest of the class period like this and by the time the bell rang, she had sketched out Romano and Feliciano playing and she was slightly shocked to notice a sketch of Regulus. Oops…well…at least it looks good, she chuckled silently, shrugging; at least the model was good looking. She folded her paper and packed up, shaking Hannah and Sara awake. Once they were all ready to go, Hannah and Sara once more led her to their next class, double period Potions with the Slytherins.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** **Like Rachel, everyone is in their 5th year. I will note otherwise if there is someone not in the same year.**

 **Regulus is a 5th year as well. For the sake of the story, he was born on August 24th, 1960, a little over 9 months after Sirius was born.**

"blah blah" - regular speech

 _blah blah -_ Rachel's thoughts

 **Also, please thank UltimateGryffindork, for betaing this story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I only own Rachel and her kittens.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

As she walked into the large Potions classroom Rachel's eyes traveled over the large desks, the stone walls warmed by the light coming in from the large windows and the large stone basin at the corner of the room. She hummed quietly, liking the atmosphere in the room, grimacing at the ugly green and yellow rug underneath the even larger desk at the back of the room. Blinking, she shrugged and turned to Hannah when she called her attention.

"So, this class should be much more interesting than History of Magic. Professor Slughorn is a pretty good teacher, with easy enough directions to follow, but…I will say this…he is notoriously known for favoritism. If you aren't on his radar, be prepared to be ignored or overlooked. That's the category we're in." She gestured her hand between her and Sara, who was nodding along. "And if you do catch his attention, he'll never leave you alone and invite you to his Slug Club group. They have meetings every month, kind of like a get together of every student he likes, and he shows them off to some other random guests he brings in sometimes," she finished with a wave of her hand, smiling a bit in amusement at Rachel's raised eyebrows.

"So basically, class is good, teacher is kind of weird?" Rachel asked rhetorically, one eyebrow raised.

Sara and Hannah nodded, chuckling, before sitting down at the right hand most desk in the third row behind another Hufflepuff pair, two boys. Seeing that they were talking, Hannah and Sara told Rachel that their names were Frank Longbottom and Dennis Silva, the only Hufflepuff 5th year boys.

Rachel took the desk behind the girls for herself, seeing that the desks only sat 2 students comfortably. She grinned, glad for the space and proceeded to get her quill, parchment, and book ready.

Looking up when she heard the door open once more, she took the time to observe them. Three stocky boys were in the front of the group, all with sneers or dark grins, talking loudly as they walked in and sat down at two desks. Quickly moving her attention to the rest of the group, she noticed one other boy that had been following the others, this one fairly skinny with what looked like chin length greasy hair and a pale despondent look on his face. He sat at the next empty spot and as he moved away from the door, she noticed the two girls. One was a tall, would-be pretty girl, if she didn't have what seemed to be a permanent bitch face that made Rachel raise an eyebrow, with short blonde hair. The other was a shorter girl, though still taller than her. Rachel observed as her eye slightly twitched. She had long black curly hair, also with a dark look as she whispered to the other, scowling in the Hufflepuff students' direction.

Turning away from them after shaking her head slightly, choosing to ignore the vague amusement that spread through her, she saw Regulus step into the room. Pleasantly surprised, she noticed that while he had what seemed to be his customary blank mask on, he did not seem to attach himself to the rest of his house, choosing to sit alone across from her, one of his hands brushing his hair away from his eyes without success. Rachel grinned lightly before her attention snapped to the slightly portly smiling man standing in front of the large desk when she heard him clear his throat.

"Welcome, students, to 5th Year Potions class. As you know, this is the year of the O.W.L. examination and to be able to continue in this class you will need to pass with an Acceptable or higher grade. I am sure quite a few of you will pass," he smiled, eyes darting to Regulus and Snape, and Rachel raised an eyebrow. _Well…I guess I know who his favorites are…though really? It's that blatant?_ She shook her head slightly as he continued, "but I have to give this speech. Now that that is done, let us open our books and start our review of the potions that we have done in past years as a refresher."

He turned his gaze to Rachel, and she blinked in question as the other students, having placed their books on their desks looked at her as well, the Slytherins except for Regulus with a smirk, while the Hufflepuffs looked in question as well, Regulus barely glancing at her before lowering his head to his book once more. "Now Ms. Villari, was it? Yes? Well then, please do ask any questions if you do not understand anything, I will be glad to help you, I'm sure that Ilvermorny went over most of these potions but our curriculum's could be different, so do not hesitate to ask questions." He said, smiling lightly at her, and Rachel responded with a nod and small smile as well.

The rest of class passed by fairly quickly, the students having been assigned reading and two feet of parchment due next class period. The students slowly trickled out, the Slytherins throwing sneers at the other students before leaving. Rachel raised an eyebrow before rolling her eyes and following the other Hufflepuffs to the Great Hall for lunch.

* * *

Walking through the Great Hall doors once more, Rachel caught a glimpse of two black and white blurs from the corner of her eye. Rolling her eyes and figuring that Roma and Feli would be fine exploring more, she continued in and sat once more at the Hufflepuff table.

The girls chatted for a while once more about their classes, sipping their pumpkin juice after having finished their lunch. Feeling someone bump into her back, Rachel turned her head, seeing two Ravenclaw girls walking towards their table, a good few feet away. Raising a brow, she turned back to see Hannah and Sara look at each other and shake their heads, frowning a bit.

"So…what exactly was that?" Rachel asked, incredulously, wondering exactly what just happened.

"Those two are Chelsea and Gabrielle Thomas, twin sisters in Ravenclaw. Though they are pretty smart, they are in fact…well…slags," Sara said vehemently, frowning and giving a dirty look at the back of the two. "They are probably just jealous that you are pretty and some of the boys have been looking at you a lot."

"Oh, um…what exactly is a slag?" Rachel asked with furrowed brows, not understanding the British slang.

"Oh, sorry, forgot that you're still new to our slang. A slag is a slut, as I think Americans say," Sara responded, smiling sheepishly. Rachel smiled in response, shrugging her shoulders.

Glancing behind her once more, she saw that the two blondes had gone over to a group of boys and were flirting heavily with them at the Ravenclaw table, twirling their hair around a finger and batting their eyelashes.

Raising an eyebrow, Rachel turned to the girls with a small grin on her face. "They seem to be mirror images, though the image does lean a bit towards desperation, wouldn't you say?" she said, gesturing back to the girls. They all chuckled at that and continued chatting for a bit longer, brushing the interaction aside.

* * *

Rachel walked through the halls in the direction she suspected the library was in, having split from Hannah and Sara as they were on their way to Muggle Studies. As she had two free periods, Rachel decided she would spend the next two hours in the library and exploring the school, grateful for the time she had alone.

She liked Hannah and Sara, they were very friendly and helpful, but she still loved having her alone time with just her thoughts. Smiling, she walked along the corridor Hannah had pointed her down, until she reached the library doors.

She paused after walking through, taking in the glorious sights. Her eyes traveled over the rows of heavy looking book cases laid through the room, to the large ornate thick tables laying in between each row, and then followed up the walls, noticing the book shelves reached several stories with large chandeliers casting a warm glow through the dark room. She sighed in pleasure, moving through the room slowly, looking around.

 _Oh wow, this is wonderful! It's so Gothic, and that stained-glass window! I am officially in nerd heaven!_ she thought, smiling as she made her way through the rows of book shelves. _Now then, where could that mythical creature book by Newt Scamander be? Ah! There we are! Time to read!_ She carefully picked up the book she found after hopping over to the book shelf in glee.

She hummed to herself, looking for a nice spot to sit while she read. Noticing an open table not too far away, she walked over and sat down, opening the book. Flipping through, she tried to remember exactly what the naturalist had called the species Romano and Feliciano were.

Someone cleared their throat above her, and she looked up curiously. Blinking, she noticed the pretty red head that stood at average height in front of her. Cocking her head to the side, she smiled at her, "Yes? Did you need something?" she asked quietly.

The girl smiled prettily back at her, "I didn't need anything, no. I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Lily Evans, 5th year Gryffindor. You are Rachel, right?" she asked politely.

"Yep, that would be me. Nice to meet you, Lily. How have you found the first day back so far?" Rachel smiled at her, happy to meet another nice person.

"It's been fairly good so far, I'm very glad to be back. Though I would like that toe rag, James Potter to leave me alone." She replied, her look darkening at the mention of the boy.

Rachel blinked. "Who is James Potter?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Ah, you haven't met them yet, have you? My apologies; after so long here, you start to expect everyone to have heard of them, they certainly make themselves noticeable. Potter is a part of a group called the Marauders, they're mostly gits that play pranks, cause havoc, and hex the Slytherins," Lily said, huffing. "Although there is one, Remus Lupin, that isn't as bad, he is very nice and helpful. You will probably see him in here a lot, he likes the library and books as well. But anyway, back to Potter. He is the arrogant toe rag that keeps bothering me, asking for a date, which will never happen because he is a pompous child!" She finished, smacking her hand on the table.

Blinking in shock, Rachel smiled lightly, trying to calm her back down. "Well, they do sound pretty annoying, though that Remus guy seems nice," she said. _I have a feeling she truly does embody the red-hair temper stereotype…let's hope that she never gets angry at me, it looks scary,_ she thought to herself, slightly amused at Lily's temper.

Lily sighed quietly. "Sorry about that, it just happened again and he always does it in the most embarrassing ways. Anyway, what book do you have there?" she asked excitedly, leaning over the table and causing Rachel to grin.

"A fellow book lover, I see?" she laughed lightly when Lily shrunk back, embarrassed with a sheepish grin on her face. "I completely understand. It's the Newt Scamander book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I was trying to find the species that my kittens are but I cannot for the life of me remember the name," she grinned, laughing lightly at herself for her forgetfulness.

"Oh! You have kittens? …Would they happen to be a black and white one?" Lily asked with a peculiar look on her face. When Rachel nodded with a questioningly look, Lily told her that she had seen them that morning. "They were climbing a suit of armour, at least the white one was trying, the black one was already on its shoulder, looking down at the other, flicking his tail. I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if they were a student's so I didn't stop them, I wonder if they got hurt?"

Noticing that Lily was starting to truly worry about them, Rachel interjected with a giggle. "Don't worry about them, they'll be fine. They are much hardier then they look. They are always getting themselves into trouble, I've only had them for two months, and they have done more than my cats at home have done in their four years of living with us," she said laughing, no longer being able to hold it as she pictured the sight.

Lily giggled with her for a bit, calming down.

They spent the rest of the hour chatting lightly, getting to know each other with Lily talking about Hogwarts and Rachel telling Lily a bit about Ilvermorny and her home after some prodding. After the hour was over they said their goodbyes, knowing they would meet later that day in DADA class as Lily went to Herbology and Rachel began her exploration of the castle.

* * *

Rachel walked down the corridor slowly, daydreaming about painting and sketching the library and Hufflepuff common room. She glanced around her every so often, trying to map out the castle a bit so she wouldn't get too lost trying to come back to the library.

As she passed doorways along the corridor she would peek in, curious to see what was in the many rooms, some paintings calling out to her, although she didn't notice them as she continued daydreaming, half of her attention on the hallway and half in her mind.

As she considered one doorway, this one filled with suits of armour, she thought she heard a meow. Blinking herself back into focus, she stood there in the doorway and tried to focus on any sounds. "Meow!" She heard that this time, clear and crisp…and…sounding like Feli.

She laughed, putting her hand on her forehead, shaking her head at her kittens' antics. Walking into the large corridor, she looked at the rows upon rows of armour in between Gothic windows. Making her way through, she caught a glimpse of white fur on top of one of the armour suits. She shook her head once more, and with an amused look on her face, drew closer, quietly as she wanted to know what was going on.

Hidden out of sight of the one kitten she could see, she saw Feliciano with his little white back curled up in fright, standing on the shoulder of a suit of armour, looking across at another suit. Raising a brow and wondering exactly where Romano was in all this as he loved scaring Feliciano, she followed Feli's gaze to the other suit.

Once she saw what Feli feared, she couldn't help the snort and bark of laughter that rose from her throat. Romano, in all his brotherly mischievousness, had decided that climbing into the suit of armour and looking at Feli with devil eyes through the slats of the armuor helmet was the best way to have some fun.

Feliciano, now scared out of his wits, cried out and scrambled down the suit of armour. Romano on the other hand, also startled, slipped down the inside of the suit of armour, causing a little thump sound. Rachel, still laughing, knelt to Feliciano and carefully patted his head, smoothing his fur until she heard him purr.

With Feliciano watching cautiously, she moved over to the suit of armour, carefully lifting a piece out of the way to uncover a grumpy Romano. She grinned at him as he sniffed at her, lifting him out of the boot, and placing him back on the stone floor.

"Well now, I see you two have been having fun! Some more than others," she smiled, giving Romano an amused smirk. The two kittens shuffled over to her, Feliciano trotting along happily, having forgotten the frightful event that just happened to him. Romano stalked over, still a bit grumpy over her having ruined his fun.

Rachel pet them for a while before picking them both up into her arms, their back legs hanging slightly on her abdomen. "Oh, I love you two! You are just so darn cute!" she gushed warmly with a large smile.

They walked around the third floor for a while longer, Rachel casually chatting with her kittens as a few passers-by gave her weird looks until they ran into Hannah and Sara.

"We were looking for you! It's time for Defense class, Rachel, let's get going," Sara said, smiling and gesturing for her to follow.

* * *

Now sitting in the slowly filling Defense classroom, books out on her desk, Rachel chatted quietly with Hannah and Sara who sat across from her at their own paired desk. Hannah was in the midst of telling her that the Defense professor changed every year due to some curse, which caused Rachel to raise her brows in slight amusement.

Sara suddenly spoke up. "Hey, Rachel, Lily just walked in." Rachel smiled in response, having told them that she had met Lily in the library, glancing over at the door and waving lightly when she saw Lily walk in with three other girls.

Lily smiled, and walked over after talking to the other girls. "Hi, Rachel, Hannah, Sara. Rachel, these three are Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, and Alice Fortescue," she said, pointing to the two tall brunettes and the slightly shorter, but still taller than Rachel, blonde.

They all smiled at each other, nodding in greeting, and sat down, Lily next to Rachel, Marlene and Mary next to each other behind Hannah and Sara, and Alice next to Frank Longbottom, both slightly blushing, behind Rachel and Lily. Marlene and Mary grinned at Alice, making her narrow her eyes at them both, while Lily, Rachel, Hannah and Sara looked on in amusement.

They chatted quietly with each other until the new Professor, Ingrid Wilkinson walked in, coming to a stop at the front of the classroom. A tall, stiff looking woman, Professor Wilkinson looked much like a stone bird, staring down at the 5th years with a sharp gaze. As she opened her mouth to address the class the door opened once more, four boys walking in, two of them strutting to an empty desk without a care in the world, grinning, and winking at the girls, two of which – not in Rachel's group – tittered, batting their eyelashes at them. The two boys following them, however, scuttled over to another desk, one looking worriedly around while the other seemed dejected and quickly slipped into his own seat.

Professor Wilkinson gave them a withering look before facing the class once more. "Now that we're all here, I will go over the curriculum that we have to go through this year…."

* * *

The next two months passed quickly, Halloween coming and going in a flash of pumpkins and candies. After a few weeks, Rachel quickly got into the routine of classwork once more, with Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings spent exploring the castle, painting, practicing martial arts and parkour in an old classroom filled with gym equipment, playing with her cats, or spending time with Lily and Remus in the library.

In the months that passed, various rumours spread about Rachel and why she had transferred, ranging from her having been expelled for an assortment of reasons to her leaving her family and moving to England alone after an explosive fight. Rachel found them all to be hysterical and throughout the two months had laughed with Alice and Sara over them, each eagerly waiting to hear what ideas would float through Hogwarts next. Lily, Hannah, Marlene, and Mary on the other hand had found them cruel, though Rachel kept waving them off when they tried to confront people about the rumours, finding them far too funny.

Although having spent quite a while with the girls, after a few months Rachel started to break away, only growing closer to Lily and Remus after having met him in the library as her sense of humour and loner tendencies had kicked in, not sitting quite as well with the other girls. Despite not being very close, they all talked and gathered together during their free moments.

Before the end of the day on Fridays, Rachel would also take the time to talk to her family through a simple paper size two-way mirror Dumbledore had helped her find the summer before. She talked with them about Hogwarts, the classes, the people, trading stories back and forth between her family members, happy to see that they were doing well.

* * *

Walking through the corridor to Potions class, Rachel thought about what Slughorn had mentioned the week before: that they would be getting permanent partners for the year based on their results from the potion they had made last week. Knowing that she had done well, confident in her potion-making abilities, she wondered who would be her partner, Regulus coming to mind shortly before she shook her head.

 _Like that would happen. I haven't been able to see much of him these past few months, darn all this revision work!_ she thought, grumbling quietly to herself. She had been feeling a bit overworked the past few weeks, Lily dragging her to the library to do homework almost every day after she had found out that Rachel was procrastinating a lot of the work. Thanks to Lily's crazy antics and red-headed temper which turned out to be as scary as Rachel thought it would be, she was all caught up with classes and did not see any point in time in which she wouldn't have Lily on her tail.

She shuddered slightly remembering what Lily looked like when she was angry, dragging her to the library. She shook her head again to get rid of the frightening picture, smiling in amusement at her fear of her friend.

She walked into the classroom, sliding into her usual seat in the back by herself and placed her paper, quill, and book on her table. Looking around once she was settled, she noticed Hannah and Sara walk in. She waved at them, smiling when they waved back before sitting at the desk in front of her. They chatted quietly once more, as usual, until Slughorn came into the room after the last student, Regulus once again, sat down.

"Now students, as you may remember, I will be giving you permanent partners for this year today. You must sit with them and get to know them well, as they will be the only person you are able to work with in this class from now on," Slughorn said, smiling to the class. Grabbing a sheet of parchment from his desk, he started calling out partners.

"Hannah McLeod and Sara Pierce," Hannah and Sara grinned at each other at this, happy with their partner.

"Severus Snape and Jack Avery,"

"Frank Longbottom and Dennis Silva,"

"Mark Mulciber and Bambi Smith,"

"Regulus Black and Rachel Villari," At this, Rachel blinked in slight shock, glancing over at Regulus who was sitting across from her. Noticing that he was looking over as well, she smiled slightly in an effort to be polite, scratching her cheek lightly when he turned away.

She came to again after having drifted into space when she felt the table move slightly, looking up, she saw that Regulus had moved to her table, setting down his things as he sat down next to her on her left. "Hi, I'm Rachel, it's nice to meet you Regulus," she said, turning to him with her hand stretched out, having decided to go for an introduction.

He looked at her through his slightly messy hair, glancing down at her hand before reaching for it and shaking it gently. "Nice to meet you too," he said in a slightly gravelly voice.

Rachel's smile widened a bit before everyone's attention was drawn to Slughorn once more. "Now that everyone is in their places, please open your books to the moonstone ingredient page. We will be working through each ingredient of the Draught of Peace before attempting to create it."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! :D**


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